AbeBooks book blog

Pricey Christmas Presents

Around the holiday season we like to look at some of our top sales and guess which ones might be Christmas presents for some lucky bibliophile. It a lot of fun because you start to think about the type of person who would be really excited about receiving each book, I even go a step further and try and think of my friends and family and guess who I would give each item to if I had an unlimited gift giving budget. Give it a try.

The top 10 list is hand picked from our sales over the peak Christmas shopping season (November 23 – December 6).

1. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - Sold for $3,300
No gift could convey the spirit of the season better than this 1843 first edition, second issue, copy of A Christmas Carol, and at $3,300 the giver is far from a Scrooge. This novella helped turn Christmas into the holiday it is today.

2. Babycakes with Weights by Edward Ruscha - Sold for $2,000
The perfect gift for pop art collectors or the next Andy Warhol in your family, Edward Ruscha’s Babycakes with Weights was published in 1970 and features one slightly hungry-looking baby and 21 photographs of assorted cakes, pies, sweetbreads, pastries and tarts with the weight of each item. A very odd book indeed.

3. A History of British Birds by F.O. Morris - Sold for $1,750
Published in 1857, this six-volume set details the various species of birds in Britain, including 358 full color plates. An absolute must for the very serious birder….if you can afford it.